The Hands’ Measure

April 29, 2019

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Nunavut Arctic College
February 2019

Essays Honouring Leah Aksaajuq Otak’s Contribution to Arctic Science

Edited by John MacDonald and Nancy WachowichNunavut Arctic CollegeFebruary 2019

These essays explore a wide variety of topics broadly related to cultural renewal and representation, oral history, heritage, and social change among the Inuit of Igloolik, in Nunavut’s northern Qikiqtani Region.

This eclectic collection was written and compiled in recognition of Leah Aksaajuq Otak. Leah was a skilled oral historian and linguist from Igloolik, whose essential contribution to scientific research in Nunavut inspired those who knew and worked with her. During the last two decades of her life, Leah worked at the Igloolik Research Centre, where she played a crucial role facilitating the fieldwork of visiting researchers from near and far. Her collaboration with researchers, particularly in the social sciences, together with her extensive work documenting Inuit oral histories, ensured that Inuit traditional knowledge and perspectives informed and were reflected in much of the resulting research.